President Obama's Tuesday State of the Union address was not as tech-heavy as in years past, but the tech community was not completely left out. Obama spent much of last week discussing tech-related issues, from municipal broadband to international coordination on cyber threats. Here's what the president said tonight about the open Internet, surveillance, combating hackers, and more.

1. Net Neutrality
The president reiterated his pledge "to protect a free and open Internet, extend its reach to every classroom, and every community, and help folks build the fastest networks, so that the next generation of digital innovators and entrepreneurs have the platform to keep reshaping our world." He did not elaborate on his November request that the FCC reclassify broadband as a telecom service rather than an information service (likely too wonky for such a speech). If the GOP has anything to say about it, that's not how net neutrality will be handled. The leadership is currently floating a proposal that would ban reclassification. Expect more at a 2:30 p.m. ET Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday.

2. Hacking
Weeks after the FBI blamed the Sony Pictures hack on North Korea, Obama said tonight that "no foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids." The president urged Congress to "finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children's information." Without such legislation, Obama said, "we'll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable." We need to use intelligence to tackle cyber threats like we use it to combat terrorism, he said. It seems the U.S. might have a head start there; reports emerged this weekend that the U.S. knew North Korea was responsible for the Sony hack because the U.S. hacked North Korea years ago (no mention of that in the speech).

3. Surveillance
Obama promised that he has not "moved on" from the surveillance debate. "As promised, our intelligence agencies have worked hard, with the recommendations of privacy advocates, to increase transparency and build more safeguards against potential abuse," he said. "And next month, we'll issue a report on how we're keeping our promise to keep our country safe while strengthening privacy." The president also said he has "worked to make sure our use of new technology like drones is properly constrained."

4. Economy
"21st century businesses need 21st century infrastructure—modern ports, stronger bridges, faster trains, and the fastest Internet," the president said. "21st century businesses will rely on American science, technology, research and development." He pushed new companies to locate in the U.S. "There are also millions of Americans who work in jobs that didn't even exist ten or twenty years ago—jobs at companies like Google, and eBay, and Tesla," he said.

5. E-Health
Obama said he was launching a Precision Medicine Initiative "to bring us closer to curing diseases like cancer and diabetes, and to give all of us access to the personalized information we need to keep ourselves and our families healthier."

6. Space
Obama said last month's Orion launch is "part of a re-energized space program that will send American astronauts to Mars." He gave a shout-out to astronaut Scott Kelly, who is preparing for a year-long stay in space (check out this article for more).
"Good luck, Captain—and make sure to Instagram it," Obama quipped.

For a look back, here are the tech issues Obama tackled in his State of the Union addresses in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

About the Author

Before joining PCMag.com, Chloe covered financial IT for Incisive Media in NYC and technology policy for The National Journal's Technology Daily in Washington, DC. She has held internships at NBC's Meet the Press, washingtonpost.com, the Tate Gallery press office in London, Roll Call, and Congressional Quarterly. She graduated with a bachelor's deg... See Full Bio

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